🛒
Belkin and Foxconn today announced the Linksys Velop AX4200 Wi-Fi 6 Mesh System's availability as the answer to the Orbi AX4200 Netgear released a while back.
A lesser meshes system designed for large coverage
Like its competitor, the new Velop AX4200 is the lesser version of Belkin's top-tier system, the Velop MX10, which includes two MX5300 routers. It comes with lower-tier hardware but still is very similar to its older cousin.
The Velop AX4200 comes in a 3-pack, but you can also find it as a single router. At the core of its, each hardware unit is a tri-band Wi-Fi 6 router (model MX4200) that takes a cylindrical shape.
Each unit has one Gigabit WAN port and three Gigabit LAN port as well as one USB 3.0 port. There's no multi-gig port which is always disappointing for a Wi-Fi 6 broadcaster.
Belkin claims it can cover up to 2700 ft2 (250 m2)—that's 300 ft2 less than the MX5300—with a Wi-Fi signal and up to 40 concurrent connected devices.
The company says you can double or triple those numbers when using two or three units, respectively. In reality, though, take "up to" with a grain of salt since the coverage varies depending on the environment.
Highlights and hardware specifications
The new MX4200 router is very similar to the MX5300 one. On the outside, it shares the same shape and physical dimension but slightly lighter. It also has just four network ports instead of five.
Per Belkin, highlights of the new Velop AX4200 includes:
• Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6: – The system comes with the official support of Wi-Fi 6.
• Qualcomm Networking Pro 800 platform: The Velop AX4200 uses 8-streams of tri-band Wi-Fi 6 connectivity and sports aa 64-bit 1.4GHz Quad-Core ARM processor.
• tri-band dynamic backhaul: Like the Velop MX5400, the AX4200 also uses Linksys dynamic backhaul technique, making any of its three bands to work as the backhaul link dynamically at any given time to deliver the optimal connection speed.
Pricing and availability
Belkin says the new Linksys Velop AX4200 Wi-Fi 6 Mesh System is available now. The single router unit (MX4200) carries the suggested price of $249.99. You'll have a better deal per unit when opting for the 3-pack (MX12000) will cost $499.99.
Wondering if the new mesh is worth the cost? Check out its full review here.
Hi Dong
My first time posting after hours / years of reviewing your amazing content.
I have a 3 pack MX5400 set and was wondering if you can provide any insight for wired backhaul… will this work in bridge mode ? Also the diagram linksys posts suggests the child nodes plugging into the parent node for wired backhaul… is this required ? When I plug in the nodes after the wireless setup through the app I can’t seem to get the connect via wired. Any advice you or the community can provide would be appreciated.
Thanks for reading my post !
Check out this post, Ash. You can’t plug things in willynilly.
I am really interested in this (2-pack, available only at Costco for $300) vs MX5 (single pack, also available at Costco for the same price) comparison. Which one will perform better in the long range?
Review of the Velop AX4200 coming up soon, RK.
Well, I’m curious about this router; any test results yet? Thanks for the great reviews and insight on products!
I’m working on it, Mike. Stay tuned. 🙂